• Resident Fellow

Esteban Ponce de León


Esteban Ponce de León is a resident fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) of the Atlantic Council. Esteban specializes in open-source research, online disinformation, and influence operations, with a focus on developing open-source intelligence tools and research methods grounded in data science. His work focuses in developing methods to integrate artificial intelligence models into digital research workflows to enhance open research, as well as developing methodology frameworks to assess artificial intelligence language models capabilities and risks for the information environment.

November 2022

How the September 2022 Azerbaijan-Armenia clashes played out online

by Givi Gigitashvili, Esteban Ponce de León

Inorganic Twitter activity, graphic Telegram footage of war crimes, and TikTok bans all surfaced in wake of recent clashes.
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May 2022

Polish-language Telegram channels spread anti-refugee narratives

by Esteban Ponce de León, Givi Gigitashvili

The DFRLab identified 27 Telegram channels spreading anti-refugee disinformation as Ukrainians flee to Poland.
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May 2022

Videos in Spanish created by Kremlin outlets reappear on YouTube despite restrictions

by Daniel Suárez Pérez, Esteban Ponce de León

Multiple channels used same branding of restricted pro-Kremlin media, garnering thousands of subscribers and views in less than a month.
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